Rehoboth Christian School was started by missionaries from the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) who came to the Southwest in 1896 to bring the Gospel to the Navajo and Zuni people. In 1903, the CRC Board of Missions purchased a 320 acre ranch, located six miles east of Gallup, which would become the center of Indian missions and include a boarding school for Native American children. The new mission was named Rehoboth, in the spirit of Genesis 26:22, and was opened in December 1903 with six Navajo children, ranging in ages 5 – 11 as its first students. By 1917, there were 100 students, and by the end of the 1940s a high school was added. The number of students in the elementary, middle and high school has continued to grow, and today Rehoboth has over 511 students in grades PreK-12.

In the 1970s, the CRC Board of Missions began to reduce its control and financial support for the school with more responsibility resting on a local school board largely made up of Native American parents. The school’s name was changed from Rehoboth Mission School to Rehoboth Christian School. In the 1990s, the dormitories were closed and an extensive bus transportation system was developed so children living within a 60 mile radius could attend Rehoboth Christian School.

Rehoboth has grown to serve one of the most diverse student bodies of any Christian School in the country—in terms of ethnic, economic, religious and academic diversity. Native Americans make up more than 68 percent of the student population with Anglos, Hispanic, and other ethnic minorities making up the rest. Students come from a number of Christian denominations including Christian Reformed, Baptist, Catholic, and Assemblies of God. More than half of Rehoboth’s students come from low-income and poverty-level income families.

Known for its academic excellence, discipline, rigor, responsibility and Christian values, Rehoboth Christian School consistently prepares students to be leaders in their professions, communities, and churches. Graduates serve in professional fields ranging from medicine, education and engineering to tribal government and the church. More than 90 percent of Rehoboth graduates go on to college or vocational training school. Over the past eight years, Rehoboth has consistently produced a number of winners of the prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship.

Rehoboth Christian School is an independent, parent-controlled institution with a reputation for bringing the best Christian education possible to the large multi-ethnic community both on and off the reservation.

Rehoboth is committed to serving its students with an education that is Christian, culturally relevant and affordable. Its mission is to challenge students to know the Triune God and equip them to love, serve and transform their world in His name.

Rehoboth Christian School has entered its second century with an exciting vision for a bright future.